The present invention relates to a support device with load-transfer functionality for supporting an intermediate portion of an elongated element. According to one particular application, the present invention relates to a lifeline support comprising a lanyard passing device for allowing a lanyard engaged on the lifeline to pass the lifeline support without disengaging the lifeline.
Lifelines are frequently used on structures to allow working persons to securely work on the structure far above ground level. These persons may thus walk about the structure in areas where falling off from the structure is not unlikely, while remaining attached to the lifeline to prevent an otherwise dangerous and possibly lethal fall.
A lifeline is a rigid or flexible elongated element such as a rope, chain, rod or the like, that is securely anchored at both its extremities to the fixed structure, which may be a building, bridge, vehicle, or any other structure. For example, known railroad maintenance vehicles are provided with lifelines, to allow working persons to accomplish their railroad maintenance tasks about the vehicle while remaining attached to the vehicle, when these tasks need to be accomplished on railroad bridges or the like areas where little or no safeguards against accidental falling are provided. Indeed, when maintenance of a railroad segment is to be accomplished, it is important, and even compulsory according to many national regulations such as North American regulations, that a work person accomplishing this maintenance be tied to her maintenance vehicle by suitable attachment means at least when person is located between the rails and the free end portions of the railroad ties, to prevent person P from being wounded or killed if she accidentally falls off from the railroad segment.
A person will attach herself to the lifeline by means of a relatively short lanyard which is a link rope or chain. For example, the lanyard can be about one to two meters (three to six feet) long. The lanyard is provided at a first extremity thereof with a harness for attachment to the person""s torso, and at a second extremity thereof with a snap hook that is a rigid closed loop having a pivotable segment which is continuously spring-biased into a first closed limit position, but which may yieldingly be forced into a second inwardly opened limit position. Thus, the snap hook may be opened to allow the lifeline to be inserted into the snap hook, and then closed so that the lifeline securely engages and extends through the closed loop snap hook. Consequently, the person wearing the harness becomes securely attached to the lifeline.
Unless the lifeline is very short, in which case it will simply be fixedly anchored at both its extremities to a fixed structure, the lifeline will be supported at regular intervals by means of lifeline support devices between its anchored extremities. Each of these support devices not only vertically supports the lifeline, but also encircles the lifeline in a transversal plane to prevent it from accidental disengagement from the support device. Without intermediate lifeline support devices, the lifeline could significantly sag under its own weight during installation, and it would become very difficult to properly tension the lifeline between its two extremity anchors to maintain it at a generally constant desired height, for example approximately at waist height relative to the surface on which the persons attached to the lifeline will stand.
One problem with conventional intermediate lifeline supports is that they prevent passage of the closed loop snap hook. Indeed, as indicated hereinabove, the intermediate lifeline support encircles the lifeline to ensure that it will not disengage the support at any time. On the other hand, the lanyard snap hook also encircles the lifeline. Thus, when the person using the lanyard moves along the lifeline, with the snap hook sliding along the lifeline, and wants to travel beyond a lifeline intermediate support, she must disengage the snap hook from the lifeline, and then reengage it on the other side of the lifeline support. The period of time during which the snap hook is removed from the lifeline represents a risk-prone situation wherein the person may accidentally fall off the structure without any attachment to the lifeline. Moreover, the snap hook removal and reinstallation operation, short in itself, can become quite time consuming over a long period when lifeline intermediate supports need to be passed repetitively.
A conventional way to circumvent the above-noted danger is to provide two lanyards on each work person. When a person wishes to travel beyond a lifeline support, she can then disengage a first lanyard snap hook from the lifeline, re-attach it on the lifeline on the other side of the lifeline support, disengage the second lanyard snap hook, and re-attach the second lanyard snap hook to the lifeline on the other side of the lifeline support. Thus, at all times is the person attached to the lifeline with at least one lanyard. The problem with this solution is that it is a burdensome and time-consuming procedure for the person working on the structure to have to disengage and re-attach two lanyards snap hooks every time she crosses a lifeline support. In practice, work persons have been known to voluntarily decide to attach a single lanyard to the lifeline, to prevent having to handle two lanyard snap hooks every time a lifeline support is crossed, consequently putting their lives at risk each time they need to travel beyond a lifeline intermediate support.
The present invention relates to an intermediate support device for supporting an intermediate portion of elongated element, comprising:
a frame, destined to be fixedly attached to a structure; and
a wheel comprising a hub rotatably carried by said frame, and a number of peripherally spaced-apart spokes fixedly attached to and radially extending from said hub, said spokes defining a common first channel side and a common second side opposite said channel side; wherein said frame comprises a frame guard in facing spaced register relative to said spokes first channel side and having an edge portion adjacent said spokes whereby said wheel and said frame guard form a substantially closed loop defining a channel therethrough on said spokes first channel side, for allowing the elongated element to extend through said channel.
In one embodiment, said frame guard extends spacedly from said spokes first channel side and between said hub and said spokes, and wherein said channel is consequently defined between said hub, said spokes and said frame guard.
In one embodiment, said spokes define an inner end attached to said hub and an outer free end opposite said inner end, said frame guard comprising a flange at said edge portion thereof, said flange extending closely adjacent to said spokes outer free end on said spokes second side.
In one embodiment, said intermediate support device further comprised a number of peripherally spaced-apart spacers fixedly attached to said wheel so as to extend radially outwardly from said hub, said spacers consequently defining radial clearances between each two peripherally successive spacer, each said radial clearance registering with a corresponding opening defined between two successive spaced-apart said spokes.
In one embodiment, said spacers are spacer rods fixedly attached to said wheel.
In one embodiment, said spacer rods are positioned in a peripherally successively staggered configuration.
In one alternate embodiment, said spacers are formed integrally with said hub and said spokes.
In one embodiment, at least one of said spokes is provided with a corresponding handle bar fixedly attached to and projecting away from the corresponding said spoke on said second side thereof.
In one embodiment, at least a portion of said frame guard main body is removable, whereby access through and egress from the otherwise closed loop formed by said wheel and said frame guard can be achieved for inserting the elongated element in said channel and retrieving the elongated element from said channel.
In one embodiment, said channel forms an angle between 0xc2x0 and 180xc2x0.
The present invention also relates to an intermediate lifeline support for supporting an intermediate portion of a lifeline, comprising:
a frame, destined to be fixedly attached to a structure; and
a wheel comprising a hub rotatably carried by said frame, and a number of peripherally spaced-apart spokes fixedly attached to and radially extending from said hub, said spokes defining a common first channel side and a common second side opposite said channel side; wherein said frame comprises a frame guard extending in spaced facing register relative to said spokes first channel side between said hub and said spokes whereby said hub, said spokes and said frame guard form a substantially closed loop defining a lifeline channel therethrough on said spokes first channel side, for allowing the lifeline to extend through said lifeline channel.
The present invention further relates to a lifeline anchoring system comprising:
a lifeline defining a first and a second extremity;
first and second lifeline anchors fixedly attached to said first and second lifeline extremities, for anchoring said first and second lifeline extremities to a structure; and
at least one lifeline intermediate support comprising:
a frame, destined to be fixedly attached to a structure; and
a wheel comprising a hub rotatably carried by said frame, and a number of peripherally spaced-apart spokes fixedly attached to and radially extending from said hub, said spokes defining a common first channel side and a common second side opposite said channel side;
wherein said frame comprises a frame guard extending in spaced facing register relative to said spokes first channel side between said hub and said spokes whereby said hub, said spokes and said frame guard form a substantially closed loop defining a lifeline channel therethrough on said spokes first channel side, said lifeline extending through said lifeline channel.